Utilising elements from previous Wizkids games, Attack Wing has added a further piece to its repertoire.
Note: This is PART ONE of a two-part review...
Including two Constitution Class and two Klingon Battle Cruisers from the Kelvin Timeline, the Faction Pack provides not just the one Mirror fleet but two opposing forces if you want to go for a full on war.
The Constitution Class models actually have a decent amount of hull detail with panelling, phaser banks and even reaction control thrusters visible on the saucer.
Both the Enterprise and the Enterprise-A cards carry the same four attack, one defence, six hull and four shield points as well as one Tech, two Weapon and two Crew upgrade slots. They also both cost 28 points as well as the Evade, Target Lock, Scan and Battle Station actions slotted in. They do differ when it comes to the aptly titled Unique Action. With the "original" Enterprise you can flip over a Specialisation Card (more on this shortly) and flip a damage card face down as a result.
On the Enterprise-A a Specialisation Card can be flipped to restore a shield point. Both of the Enterprises move identically with a maximum forward speed of six (does incur an Auxiliary Power Token) with Green forward and bank maneuvers at speeds one and two. Speed two also offers 90 degree turns and finally there's a speed of two for reverse that will incur an Auxiliary Power Token.
The Starfleet ships come with four captain options in Pike, Kirk, Spock and Sulu. Now, before we get into those you might think there are a heck of a lot of cards in this box but what we have here is a whole set of double-sided crew options. All of the Federation/Mirror cards here with the exception of Pike carry the "switch" Specialisation emblem. These will start on one side and then flip as and when directed within the game. There is, fortunately, a Specialisation card which explains all the benefits of these new possibilities plus their restrictions.
Unusually for this game pack I'm going to review per character for crew starting with the Kelvin Christopher Pike. An eight on Captain's Skill, Pike costs five points with the option to pack an Elite Action onto the ship as well. He allows an additional Crew slot plus can flip two Specialisation Cards equipped to the ship. Pike's a good card with strong stats that will allow you to change the flow of the game by altering your specialties in bulk per round to suit the situation.
Kirk has a Captain skill of seven for a cost of four points plus the chance to add an Elite Action. Kirk can be disabled during the Activation Phase and as a result you can remove a Time Token from any Crew assigned to your starship. Again a good skill level but reactivating this Kirk will take an Action to complete. Flip him onto Cadet Kirk, the cost is still four points and the Elite Action remains active. This version however is Crew rather than Captain and again he comes into play during the Activation Phase. This time three Time Tokens get set on the card so that you can increase your Captain skill by two for a round and also perform a Battle Station action as a freebie.
Cadet Kirk is certainly more flexible than the decently powered Captain option so I'd be more tempted to load him as this version with Pike in the command slot.
Science-shirted Mr Spock comes as the third command option for the Enterprise and provides a damn useful option alongside his skill of six and option for an Elite Action. During attack Spock allows your ship to add a Battle Station action/token to your ship or, if you have Scan already active. It adds a Damage to your attack roll. This highly effective card really has no downside nor does it require any Time Tokens to reactivate the feature. On the other side the Academy Tutor Spock works similarly to Cadet Kirk, increasing the captain skill by two points and letting you perform a Scan as a free action. All for the cost of three Tmie Tokens however it gives you the chance to move first and then potentially attack first with benefits. Spock costs a respectable four points and either side will allow the addition of an Elite Action.
Captain cards now out of the way, there are a further five Crew cards which are also double-sided. Scott, Leonard McCoy Hikaru Sulu and Nyota Uhura cost three points with Pavel Chekov costing two. Montgomery Scott is temporarily disabled by Time Tokens should you wish to give yourself a better chance and repair a hull point or on the other side he will again result in a disabled card but for the option of repairing a Shield point. Once each Action is used the card is flipped meaning you can alternate which repair is completed.
Sulu can also be graded as a Captain with a skill of five and will gain an Evade Token should you perform a banking move at speed one to the left or right. Defensively it adds another chance to get away from an attack more effectively and the alternative also provides additional defence but only against minefields with three dice rolled to see if you can Evade the onslaught of this killer laid weapon. His stronger Action is definitely his Captain side but given the strength of the other contenders I would probably never use it.
Uhura also functions to extend your time in the game with her Cadet side allowing you to discard any Communication Failure damage cards and her Communications Officer side offers help to an ally with it increasing the range of any Upgrades by one. This Activation Phase action comes at the cost of three Time Tokens but could help a smaller support ship give you an extra boost or provide an unexpected attack from another craft.
Two point Chekov works against opponents during combat to remove a Scan token in play on another ship or you can utilise his ability to cancel off an Auxiliary Power Token from your own craft dependant on which version you choose. Either incur the standard three Time Token penalty before being reactivated. For a couple of points Pavel does provide something different and I would probably go with the Auxiliary Power assistance to mean I can perform some tighter manoeuvres. Definitely suggest coupling him with something that will reduce your Time Token penalty.
You also have two Weapon choices to implement taking their cues from the 2009 and Into Darkness movies. Full Spread Phasers either adds an attack die to your primary weapon (thus making this Enterprise attack with five dice) or allos you to fire from your Secondary Weapon arc using one less die (three in this example). This is a magic card to equip for just a four point cost and removes the possible need for Photon Torpedoes since there's no Time Token requirement to reactivate. Costing three points is Advanced Long Range Torpedo. Adding one more die to the attack (five in the case of the Enterprise), the Torpedo can be used at ranges two and three and does require two Time Tokens to be used up before it can be reactivated. However, the benefit is worth it with any ship within range one of the target incurring one point of damage. A great move that increases the abilities and effectiveness of the weapons in the pack and one which you would have to seriously consider on a Federation or Mirror Universe fleet.
Rounding out the Federation half of the pack there are two Tech upgrades included (but no Federation Elite Actions???). Integrated Future Technology is a nod to the arrival of Nero and Spock to the past. This one stops you from incurring Faction Penalties when you want to bolt on Romulan or Bajoran Tech or Weapon upgrades to the ship. But that's not all and for three points there's a lot of value here since the card asks you to place a Tech upgrade costing four or less under it during Setup then flip it over and equip it during Planning even if it goes over your points budget.
Finally, Portable Transwarp Beaming Device works at all ranges and stops you losing an essential crew member from your ship if such an enemy Action was to do so. If this was to happen then this card comes right into play with a light one Time Token penalty and a cost of two points which is well worth the price to keep your ship fully stocked for the duration.
The Federation half of this pack gives some strong contenders and a lot of things to consider. A few of these upgrades are downright outrageous and the double-sided cards provide a new twist on a game that's been around for a while. What I would have liked to have seen was some functionality linked to Beyond but the bulk of the crew features seem based firmly in the 2009 movie with the tech coming more from the Into Darkness sequel. Certainly a Saucer Separation option would have played well maybe offering two firing arcs and maybe we could have had a Vengeance or a Franklin instead of the second Enterprise which, of course, suggests that this was devised during or after the third movie.
The models are decent and yes, we know they are recycled from other Wizkids releases which is likely the reason we haven't got either of the other two Starfleet ships I've suggested since their miniatures don't exist. That said, this is a great addition to the fleet and a whole new angle with the dual ability cards. Potentially one of the strongest fleets available in one place.
You can read the second half and the Klingons right here...
What's your impressions of the Kelvin Timeline faction pack? Will you be adding it to your collection?
Rounding out the Federation half of the pack there are two Tech upgrades included (but no Federation Elite Actions???). Integrated Future Technology is a nod to the arrival of Nero and Spock to the past. This one stops you from incurring Faction Penalties when you want to bolt on Romulan or Bajoran Tech or Weapon upgrades to the ship. But that's not all and for three points there's a lot of value here since the card asks you to place a Tech upgrade costing four or less under it during Setup then flip it over and equip it during Planning even if it goes over your points budget.
The Federation half of this pack gives some strong contenders and a lot of things to consider. A few of these upgrades are downright outrageous and the double-sided cards provide a new twist on a game that's been around for a while. What I would have liked to have seen was some functionality linked to Beyond but the bulk of the crew features seem based firmly in the 2009 movie with the tech coming more from the Into Darkness sequel. Certainly a Saucer Separation option would have played well maybe offering two firing arcs and maybe we could have had a Vengeance or a Franklin instead of the second Enterprise which, of course, suggests that this was devised during or after the third movie.
The models are decent and yes, we know they are recycled from other Wizkids releases which is likely the reason we haven't got either of the other two Starfleet ships I've suggested since their miniatures don't exist. That said, this is a great addition to the fleet and a whole new angle with the dual ability cards. Potentially one of the strongest fleets available in one place.You can read the second half and the Klingons right here...
What's your impressions of the Kelvin Timeline faction pack? Will you be adding it to your collection?
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